Balti Masala

When I first heard the name, I was wondering what a bucket (Balti in Hindi/Urdu) has to do with a masala. Later when I looked up in Wiki came to know that this has further evolved into being known closer to a kadai or wok. Another school of thought is that the Balti masala or Balti style of cooking has its origins in the North Pakisthan-Kashmir Belt. In UK Balti Cuisine refers to the cuisine from the above area. I believe that in the city of Birmingham UK, there are some designated Balti Houses(Restaurants). But to me it means a curry made in a wok with some spices!


I came across this masala in Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries when I was doing the previous Blogging Marathon. I am so impressed with this masala that I have now replaced the store bought Garam masala with this Balti masala in my cooking. Trust me, it makes a fine substitute for garam masala.
So for Day 2 of this edition of BM#8, here is the aromatic Balti masala from the snow capped mountains of Kashmir and Pakistan..

Ingredients - 


Fennel seeds / Sonf 2 tsp
Coriander seeds / Dhania 2 tsp
Cumin / Jeera 1 tsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Cloves 1/2 tsp
Black cardamom seeds 1/2 tsp (Badi Elaichi)
Nigella seeds / Kalonji 1/2 tsp
Dried Bay leaves 3 
Cinnamon 6 inch stick broken into small bits
Red Chilli Powder 2 tsp
Ground Nutmeg / Jajikai 1/2 tsp

Method Of Preparation - 


Roast all the ingredients (except the red chilli powder and nutmeg) until they are highly fragrant. Cool them and powder them adding the red chilli powder and nutmeg powder. Store in an airtight container for future use.


Check to see what my fellow marathoners are up to in this edition of BM #8.


Sending to Srivalli's Condiment Mela and Desisoccermom's B2B - Dry spice powders.


Preparation Time 15 min
Makes 1/3 cup